Monday, May 23, 2011

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Last night we took a little trip to a town about an hour from here. Word got out quite some time ago that in this little town a man of about 80 some years lives there. He owns many acres of land. His property is just gorgeous...Greenery everywhere, tall trees....a little stream in the back.

Well the thing is, he invites everyone to come by his place of an evening to meet his friends. His hummingbird friends. They come to his property by the thousands. He says that during the day they stay in the trees in the far back of his property feasting on bugs and then in the evening they come closer to the house where all the feeders are. It was just amazing to see. And almost more amazing to hear...their wings were just a buzzing...those birds were zipping and zapping all over the place.

He had feeders hung up in every place imaginable. In all the trees...from the out buildings....just everywhere. I think including us there had to have been about 20 or 25 people there enjoying the evening.

At one point J decided to see if they would come around when he was standing there...as still as could be.

As you can see it didnt take long before they came zipping around him.

And calling their friends to join them.

J thought it was super cool to be so close to a hummingbird.

Sometimes they would fly away and J would just stand there and wait and wait...

And then back again they would come.

This guy had feeders everywhere...and at any given time they would have several birds around them...those birds can get a little testy, too. Im just sayin. They arent very good sharers.

This little bird came in and J said he could feel his feathers and his little feet on his finger!!!

And then off he went.

To come back just moments later. Or maybe it was a different one. I cant know. :-)

You could see the little kids all lined up at the trees holding out their fingers...hoping that one little bird would decide to rest for a little bit.

And as cute as my little guy G is....he is not nearly as quiet nor does he have the ability to stand still like his big brother J.

But still....it was an amazing time. We will totally be doing that again next year.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

So, back in the Fall, Danni over at Critter Farm, alerted me to some llamas that were in need of a new home. The owners health had declined due to illness andshe was looking for someone to take in her small herd of 4 llamas. They were her babies. She loved on them, took super great care of them, put them in shows....it was going to be a very hard thing for her to part with her lovely llamas. But she knew it was the best thing for them.

Once I became aware of this I contacted the owner at once to inquire. We spoke on the phone several times, emailed back and forth, and pictures were sent my way. It was decided that I would take two of the four llamas. I would have loved to have taken all 4, but I felt it was just too much for me. Already having Dolly and Toni and the rest of the crew here on the farm...I just wanted to make sure that I could provide for everyone in the best way.

Well, weather proved to be an issue. The owner lives over on the Oregon coast. Thats about 6 hours from me and it includes a drive through the Gorge. Notsomething you want to do if the weather is questionable. And since I dont have a trailer yet...it was up to the owner to transport them here to the desert.

While we waited for Fall and Winter to pass...we kept in touch via email.

Just last weekend...the owner, with the help of her very nice daughter, made the drive and I am now the very proud and happy owner of 2 new llamas.

Please meet Prize.

And Allie.

They are super sweet girls.

They enjoy being next to you.

Especially Allie.

They are a mama and daughter pair. Just like Dolly and Toni.

After a little talking and a lot of looking out at the pasture...

And giving some very sweet farewell kisses to their mama.

We decided to take them on up towards the barn.

Dolly and Toni were very concerned and actually snorted at the newcomers a few times. Not being mean, but just out of curiosity.

We headed through the pasture with Dolly and Toni right on our heels.

And after closing off one side the pasture so that Prize and Allie could have some time alone, we let them go so they could explore their new home.

I am still shaking my head in awe that I am now the proud owner of 4 llamas on my little farm.

Thank you to everyone who played a part in getting Prize and Allie here to me.